Out of Order

by Robin Stevenson

Fifteen-year-old Sophie sees her move to Victoria as a chance to start over and leave her old self behind. She is soon drawn into the orbit of the charismatic but troubled Zelia. As their friendship develops, and Zelia's behavior becomes increasingly self-destructive, Sophie struggles to maintain both the friendship and her own sense of self. Then Sophie meets Max. At first, Max seems to be Zelia's opposite: direct, straightforward and sure of herself. But this new friendship brings its own unexpected challenges and confusion, and Sophie slowly starts to realize that friendships are a place in which one can both lose and discover oneself.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, LGBT

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Robin Stevenson is the award winning author of over thirty books of fiction and non-fiction for kids and teens. Her books have received starred reviews and have won the Silver Birch Award, the Sheila A. Egoff award and a Stonewall Honor, and been finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the Lambda Literary Awards, and many reader’s choice awards. Robin was the Book and Periodical Council of Canada’s Champion of Free Expression for 2022, and received the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence in 2023. She lives on the west coast of Canada.

Reviews

[Marissa Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm about 20 years too old for this book, but the author posts to a forum that I follow so I was intrigued. With so much angst packed into 221 pages, I felt like I'd watched an entire season of DeGrassi Junior High in the hour it took to read this novel. Stevenson includes all the usual typical teen issues--shoplifting, drinking, coming out of the closet, anorexia, cutting, and even a suicide attempt (no spoiler here for a mature reader: the author provides plenty of warning signs). The protagonist's constant concern on how to define herself rings true, and would make her an appealing character for teenager readers. The plot is juicy but steamy scenes lack graphic detail, so I'd feel comfortable recommending this book to eighth graders.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Katie Hayes for TeensReadToo.com

Tenth-grader Sophie has just started at a new school. At her previous school, she was frequently bullied, and she's eager to leave that behind her. She begins by making friends with Zelia, an intriguing but troubled loner. Under Zelia's influence, Sophie does things she's never done before, like smoking and panhandling. Before long, she learns some of Zelia's disturbing secrets and begins to have reservations about their friendship.

Sophie makes another friend, a girl named Max, while pursuing her interest in horseback riding. Max proves to be a saner and more reliable friend than Zelia, but she is keeping a major secret as well. Meanwhile, Sophie begins to realize that her own issues, which include a distorted body image, haven't disappeared just because she's changed schools.

While the plot isn't terribly original, Stevenson succeeds in painting a realistic picture of high school without veering too far into melodrama. She also does a nice job of making her characters well-rounded. Zelia, in particular, comes off as neither a villain nor a hero, but a believable, three-dimensional rebel. Also, each girl has her own problems, and Stevenson addresses them with sensitivity and without resolutions that feel too neat. Readers will recognize themselves or people they know in these characters, and I recommend it as a quick read that's very easy to relate to.

[Westcoast_girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of Order deals with:
-Suicide
-Eating Disorders
-Bullying
-Coming out
-Drinking
-Self Harm
-Moving
-High School
-Stealing
-High School Parties
-Smoking

Unrealistic, much?
The actual book was a fine, easy read. Being someone with an eating disorder, I felt that they didn't represent what a true eating disorder is really like (all-consuming, anxiety provoking, depressing, life changing, destructive), but maybe I'm just sensitive. I did like the character of Max and the horsey parts which were a welcome relief from the over-preachy teen issue morals.

One think I did entirely like about this book was the ending. I felt it was true to life, but still happy enough.

This book was overall OK. If someone wants to teach their kid or themselves about typical teenage issues, this would be your all-in-one kind of novel.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. I had a hard time putting this one down, which is why I finished it in one sitting. I also guess at some little things in the beginning, and got them right. That was disappointing. But it had a very good plot, and well-rounded characters. I'm going to look at others by Robin Stevenson; see what I find.

[Sunny Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok I guess. I finished it, but there wasn't anything really original about it. The same old formula: good girl gets influenced by bad girl and ends up learning stuff about herself. Kind of done to death, but the writing wasn't bad.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminded me of all the horrible bullying I've been through myself, tugs at the heartstrings but was still a good read.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked it, reminds me of middle school